Chapter 11
I slept well that night, besides the occasional small burning feeling in my gut. I had thrown off the covers to have a look at my stomach, when I found that it looked perfectly normal.
The morning after the next Karin had woke me up, warning me that people who appeared to be from my village were coming. I had immediately gotten dressed, and walked outside to find a lot of people, all of them I knew.
Suigetsu was in front of us all, viciously watching Neji, Shino, Naruto, Kiba and Akamaru... and Shikamaru. My heart leaped when I saw him, but I felt suddenly bloodthirsty.
Kill...-chuckles-...Hm...You like that one, eh? Fine, we'll spare him. Hearing this high pitched squeal in my head, I thought I was going insane. Shikamaru was staring at me.
"Teima.." He said my name in almost a whisper, disbelievingly staring at me.
Have I really changed that much in a single day?
He made his shadow-possession jutsu within a few seconds, and Jugo dodged his attempt. Stupid Sasuke told him already all of the abilities he knew of that everyone had.. He frowned. I wanted to frown too, but decided against it. Suddenly Neji took on Karin, Kiba challenged Sasuke with an insult, and Naruto seemed ready to fight Suigetsu.
I silently wished them all luck.
Luck? Oh yeah... they'll need it... The high pitched voice was laughing now.
Shikamaru and I just stood there.. I'm not going to fight him.
You're not? ... Hell no!
I felt stupid, talking back to a voice in my head. Shikamaru finally spoke.
"What happened to you?" I felt uncomfortable answering, and turned away to watch Neji kick the crap out of Karin.
"Orochimaru killed my dad the day he was captured. It's all Kabuto's fault." Shikamaru looked crestfallen, watching me with sympathy. My dog whined, watching him. Restless, she shifted around everywhere. She looked up to me pleadingly, and knowing what she wanted, I gave her permission, watching her sprint to Shikamaru.
Heh. If only I could do that... but.. Konoha wont help me kill Kabuto. They don't know where he is, and if I get any closer to him, I'll be too tempted.
Then kill him. It's that simple.
Go away, bitch!
Such language... tsk tsk. The burning feeling was at my stomach, and I winced only slightly, despite the major pain that was there.
Are you doing this? The voice laughed again.
Who else, dearie?
..Who the hell do you think you are?!
I am the seven-tailed Badger...please, call me Fruvo.
Fruvo? I laughed to myself. Weird name. The pain in my stomach grew to twice as to what it was before.
"Tei...I...I'm so sorry.." Shikamaru's voice made the thing inside of me cringe as I felt my heart skip a beat.
"Don't be.. Shikamaru, I will come back. I still love you, and I always will." He glanced at Sasuke to find him glaring, and Shikamaru quickly turned back to me. I was still keeping my eyes trained on anything but him.
"Why don't you come with me, now?" His voice cracked...why? I turned to look at him. I suppose he can know...
"Kabuto needs to die, and I want to be the one to kill him. Sasuke can lead me to him..." Shikamaru just shook his head.
"Sure, but he'll also want something else in return! Teima, I love you too!" My eyes widened, my heart skipping a lot more than one beat. I think it stopped...
Shit! The voice had courage again. What, you scared of him? Good!
"I'm...glad to hear that.." I looked away from him. That was a total lie. I'm not glad, more like euphoric. His voice was angry.
"Teima, come with me now!" I almost jumped back about ten feet at his raised voice, and Ekitai did. I glared at him. I can't do that. I can't abandon this...I can't abandon killing Kabuto! Why doesn't he understand?!!
"No! I will come at my own pace," As anger creeped up on me, Ekitai's fur bristled and she snarled at him.
"Fine, if you want to be that way.." He muttered, throwing a shuriken at me. I easily dodged, and it hit a tree behind me. I prevented myself from laughing.
"You missed!" His hands moved quickly to do handsigns...and my body froze.
Damnit! I'm caught in his jutsu!
I glared at him. What happened to free will?
Killing him will make life easier.. I can help you with that. The voice sounded pleading, and it disgusted me.
"No way," I muttered. Shikamaru sighed.
"You still love me, huh? Nice way to show it," I felt the tears well up in my eyes as the hole in my heart tore open a little more. He looked like he regretted ever thinking those words. "Tei...don't cry.." but I couldn't help it.
I do love him...more than I ever imagined.
He stepped closer to me. I obviously was physically forced to do the same. He continued to walk closer and closer until he gave me a hug, his head resting on mine. I felt the jutsu being lifted.
The thing inside me almost growled. You're going to let him get away with that? It hissed, and I felt it's annoyance. At first I wanted to escape just to not be tempted, but then decided against it. I only clinged to Shikamaru, wishing that this moment would last forever, when I put my head on his shoulder to cry.
I missed him so goddamn much.. and we've only been apart for a day...
"I missed you... Why didn't you come sooner?" He sighed and started petting my hair. I love it when he does that.
Ugh. Gross. Shut up, Fruvo.
"I wish I could have if I'd known it hurt you that bad.. Now c'mon, let's go home." Something that was NOT me made my right arm dig into my weapon pouch.
FRUVO, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! It just ... laughed at me. Suddenly I realized I was holding a kunai to his neck. A weapon to my lover's throat.
Does anyone besides me see anything WRONG with this picture?
He twisted my other arm, and I cried out in pain.
Thank God it was a reflex to resist him.. He looked at me, not knowing what was going on. To tell the truth, neither did I. I did the handsigns to my water-art jutsu...well...not me...Fruvo. I felt my lips move, and my own voice escape.
"Water-art jutsu!" No! FRUVO! STOP THAT! The demon cringed as I changed the form of the chakra to a reindeer... something less harmless. It also reminded me of Shikamaru, which I liked. Blood from other battles and water collected to cling to my chakra until it took it's form, and the reindeer went after Shikamaru. He used handsigns that I actually recognized.
"Shadow sewing jutsu!" Shadows from all around lifted off of the ground to pierce my reindeer...
The voice laughed again.
Let's say this reindeer represents this Shikamaru person. If it dies, so does he. You evil little bitch! Don't you dare!
I quickly got the reindeer to dodge every shadow possible, but he finally pierced it. The reindeer turned into a little puddle of water and blood.
SHIT. I have to get him out of here!
I performed the handsigns to do the attack that would get him far away from me.
"Grand Fireball jutsu!" His eyes widened and he turned away to run from my spitting blue fire. I made sure he was as far away as possible before my chakra began to run low.
Suddenly Fruvo stirred.
What did I tell you? Now he will have to die...
NO!!!
"RUN AWAY, SHIKAMARU!!" I shouted, when suddenly I felt a lot better.
I wasn't exhausted from loss of chakra anymore.. new energy filled me, surrounded me, in fact.
Like my power? Realizing it was Fruvo's, I suddenly hated it. Feeling power surge through me, I looked up, grinning at the renewed energy. My eyes met Shikamaru's before I felt pain explode on my body.
W...what the hell..
Shikamaru stared, realizing I wasn't myself anymore. I felt my hand being lifted, then a flick, and a strong wind attacked the area. Fruvo pointed at the sky, and I heard thunder. She can control all of the elements?
That's right. You like knowing that with my power, you are a master with all of these elements? I wanted to frown deeply, but realized that my body wasn't MINE anymore. For the time being it belonged to Fruvo.
I could already tell people were coming long before they even got here. Nobody was fighting anymore, but watching me with awed expressions, though Sasuke was smirking to himself.
"Sasuke... What did you DO to her?!" I heard Shikamaru's voice enter my ears, and it was then that I decided I wanted my body back.
It's my body.
You can't have it.
"Just ... woke up something that deserved to be alive.." Shikamaru stared. Neji was looking me up and down and all around with his Byakugan.
"This is NOT normal chakra! I've only seen it once before..." He glanced at Naruto, who was watching me with no expression.
He knows what it's like to be in my position...it's obvious.
"Sasuke, tell me now what is going on with her!" Shikamaru seemed alarmed. The pretty-boy snickered.
"You can't tell? Teima is a Jinchuriki, container of the seven-tailed Badger." He gaped at him, and Sasuke sighed.
"It used to be inside her father... but somehow, before he died, the demon transferred itself to a new body to preserve itself... and Teima was the body it found." Shikamaru glanced at me to find me glaring at them all. He took a step forward, and Fruvo tried to move but I stopped her, realizing that I was regaining my body.
I moved my hands lazily as a tester, and the chakra around me destroyed everything around us.
Finally, Fruvo left me alone...but it was then that everything became black.
Conscious again, I blinked many times to rid myself of the blurred vision my eyes provided me with. When everything was finally clear, I could tell that I was in a hospital room. They succeeded in their mission. Looking to my left, I found Naruto smiling at me.
"Good morning, sleepy head!" He laughed lightly, and I just gazed at him.
"Where's Shikamaru?" My voice was hoarse. Naruto looked away from me.
"He's...watching his clouds." Oh...duh.
"Oh..alright, then. What're you doing here?" He smiled weakly.
"I was told that you've been unconscious for a while.. and I was curious." My eyes slightly widened as curiousity got the better of me.
"How long have I..?"
"A few days. Granny said your body needed time to repair itself...That thing inside of you did a lot of damage!" He smiled a little again, trying to brighten my mood. I heard a familiar high-pitched hiss.
He knows...doesn't he?
What? Knows what? The badger sniggered.
You'll see.
I yawned, sitting up to stretch. Naruto watched me calmly as I got out of bed to realize that I was in those hospital clothes. Mumbling under my breath, he chuckled.
"Your clothes are in there, I would know." He pointed to a closet across the room, and I nodded my thanks. Walking into the nearest restroom to get dressed, I wondered if Shikamaru came to visit while I was unconscious..
You're so obsessed.
Mhm.. I know. Pulling on my sweatshirt I walked out of the bathroom to find Naruto waiting for me.
"Hey...Tei?" I looked at him, puzzled.
"Yeah?" He nervously scratched the back of his head.
"I'm here for you, alright?" I gave him a weird look.
"Uh...Yeah..sure.." Not knowing what he meant, I just walked by his side until we left the hospital after I checked out. We waved our goodbyes, and I turned to sprint in the direction of the hill where Shikamaru and I would watch our clouds, Ekitai groggily following. I wonder how long she's been asleep.
I stopped when I found two figures laying down on our hill, recognizing them to be Shikamaru and Chouji. They spotted me quickly, and just stared. Chouji actually looked horrified.
"Hey guys.." I had ran over to them to sit next to Shikamaru, and he tried to smile.
"..I was just going to take Chouji to get some Barbeque..you know...just the two of us.." I looked down, disappointed, Shikamaru and Chouji quickly deserting me for their meals. Ekitai's ears perked up as she watched them walk away, hopeful that they'll whistle for her or something. I sighed, patting her head.
"Let's go."
Hmn. I knew it. He knows something. That blonde obnoxious kid.
Huh?
Go ask him yourself...
I don't understand.
You're so blunt. What kind of "best friend" wouldn't invite you to a meal with them, hmm?
Nah..He just needed some time with his guy friends.. I could imagine her rolling her eyes as she spoke.
Whatever.
Walking back to the village, I noticed people were nervously looking at me as I passed them. Some little kids even pointed and ran screaming.
I raised an eyebrow. What's up with them? I shrugged to myself, walking into the ramen shop to find Naruto. Knew he'd be here. He spotted me, but didn't grin as he had last time. I gave him a worried look.
"Naruto... I don't know if I'm being paranoid.. but everyone's avoiding me.." He didn't say a word as he finished his bowl, but sighed when he turned around to look at me thoughtfully.
"You know how people used to fear me?" I nodded. "It's kind of like that...people are probably still scared of me and Shienna, but they seem to know that we can control ourselves. But they also know that you are an inexperienced Jinchuriki, so I suppose you're getting the same treatment that Shienna, Gaara and I had.." I sighed, looking at the table, knowing he was right.
"It's just...weird. Even Shikamaru's trying his best to get away from me." Naruto's eyebrows creased into his forehead.
"He is?" I nodded sadly.
"Hmm.. I thought I told him.." I was amazed at Naruto. He's not hyper for a few seconds! This is a moment to cherish. "Hey. Come with me." He turned and started running, and Ekitai and I followed. I soon realized that he was going to the place where Chouji and Shikamaru would be eating barbeque, and wondered how Naruto knew they were there.
It was easy to find them. They were sitting at a table, Shikamaru watching Chouji pig out on his food with an amused expression. He looked up, hearing the bells of the door as we walked in. His mouth twisted into a slight frown as his eyes widened when he spotted me, and I heard the badger thing hiss again.
He's obviously not pleased to see us, can we please just kill him? I wanted to punch it in the face. Hell no!
Naruto briskly walked over to the table, and I just froze as he slammed a fist on their table. He pointed at me, angry.
"See that PERSON over there, Shikamaru? Chouji?" They didn't respond, but he continued anyway. "That person is your best friend, Shikamaru Nara, and you're running away from her like she's your worst nightmare!" Shikamaru's eyes narrowed as they shifted to glare at Naruto.
"Go away, you troublesome kid." Annoyance creeped up on me as I stomped over there to lightly shove Naruto out of my way. It was my turn to scold him.
"He's just defending me, you jerk! Do you even realize that it wasn't ME that put that kunai to your throat? And changing my jutsu to a reindeer was the best I could do to save you.. and... and then using my Grand Fireball jutsu was my last resort to get you the hell out of there when Fruvo threatened to kill you! And now HERE you are, completely ignoring me when I thought it was you who wanted me here in the first place. Make up your mind already. If you don't want me here, I'll go back to my business in killing Kabuto." Everyone in the shop turned to stare at me. Naruto looked very confused.
"Fruvo?" I nodded curtly.
"That bitch that's inside of me," I mumbled. I felt something snap at my insides. Did she just try to bite me?
Naruto suddenly understood. Thank God someone did. Shikamaru was just blankly looking at me in shock, trying to understand what I just told him. Chouji was stock still, staring at his food as though he was afraid to eat it. Hurt and angry, I gave them a despairing look before turning around to run out of the shop. I purposely sprinted to the direction of the hill, wanting to escape this mess Fruvo put me into.
The man I love is afraid of me.. along with most of the world. I wonder what dad would say..
I watched the clouds slowly make their way across the sky, sometimes hiding the sun that threatened to blind me. In my head I allowed the song Animal I Have Become by Three Days Grace to play repeatedly until it lulled me to sleep.
Waking up from my cat nap, I blinked a few times at the too-bright sun, then rubbed my eyes as I sat up straight. I heard someone sigh behind me, and it sounded like a guy. Startled, I looked back to see Shikamaru watching me. His eyes widened when I smiled.
"You don't...What about those.." He couldn't figure out what to say, and it made me confused.
"Eh?"
"You don't have fangs anymore!" The words came out in a rush, and I almost laughed.
"Fangs? I have teeth. Human teeth...Duh." He looked disgruntled, but nonetheless he sat up so he was eye level with me.
"After you left, Naruto gave me the most troublesome scolding of my life. Worse than my mother's...He also tried to explain some things to me, and I guess they're true." I almost grinned.
"You deserved it...though I am sorry for scolding you like that. I don't want to remind you of your mother... I know you don't want to be with a woman like her." He smiled crookedly.
"Mom would've been worse. Besides, I'm the one who should be apologizing. It was really cruel of me to avoid you like that.." I sighed.
"I better get used to it, you should've seen everyone in the village earlier." He frowned.
"What'd they do?" I smiled, pretending to make a joke out of it.
"They looked at me like I'm some kind of monster from a scary movie. Even the little kids pointed, screamed, and ran." He knew it wasn't a joke, but looked very troubled. Scooting himself closer to me, he gave me a hug.
"Complete change of subject, but from now on you're going to be under my watch. You're not running back to Sasuke." I sighed lightly. I figured that.
"Fine." Ekitai, who had crawled into my lap, was now almost purring. I could tell she didn't like Sasuke or his team. Suddenly I remembered something.
"Where's Shienna?!" Shikamaru bit his lip, thinking.
"I...don't know... Probably with Kakashi." I panicked, jumping up, preparing for my sprint to Tsunade's office. Shikamaru grabbed my hand firmly. "Don't worry about her, I'm sure she can take care of herself." Dragging me back down to the grass, he leaned over to whisper in my ear.
"Don't forget anything I have said to you, it would be a bother to have to repeat everything again." What he said sent shudders down my spine. Taking my other hand he intwined our fingers together, and pulled me ontop of him. I smiled brightly, happy for the first time in days. He examined my eyes.
"They're the beautiful shade of blue again.." I blinked.
"Hm?" He smiled widely before responding.
"Your eyes...they're reminding me that this pleases you." I looked around, realizing what he meant. Blushing, I smiled a little.
...Egh. I wouldn't have come into this body if I knew you were in love. What she said made me smile broader.
Then get out.
It gave an annoyed hiss.
No can do. Your body is the only one that's compatible for me right now.. You're the only descendant of Miso.
Well, that doesn't make sense at all. That means you can't go to another body.
Whatever.
Coming back to reality, I realized that Shikamaru was just gazing at me with a worried expression.
"You okay?" Hearing his concerned voice made me want to hug him.
"Yeah. Just had a small talk with Fruvo." She made my stomach burn slightly again as a warning to say nothing more of the subject. He took a deep breath and exhaled loudly, remembering the monster inside of me. Thinking he didn't want to be with me anymore, I tried to get off of him, but to my surprise Shikamaru held me there.
"Tei, don't think like that. I'm not going to treat you like everyone else...excluding Naruto. Damn, now that I think about it, he's been a better friend than I have." I shook my head.
"Only because he's had experiences whereas other people wouldn't understand," I reminded him. He nodded.
We had spent the rest of the day together, much to my enjoyment.
As the day drew to a close, Shikamaru escorted me to Tsunade's office to question my father's funeral. She told me that she hasn't forgotten, and that when she gets the time she will provide an honorable funeral for him, though she reminded me to not get my hopes up that it will be soon. She said I should expect it around the new year, she has too much on her hands right now.
The month October deserted us, days of Shikamaru and I going on missions and spending more time together passed.
November followed October's lead as Kakashi decided to train me in my lightning elements, using the same strategy he had long ago with Naruto. I never imagined it would work with me. Yamato began working with me once I knew the lightning basics. He helped me move large pieces of earth to throw at a foe, but that's all we had time for before Christmas came around.
Christmas day had haunted me, reminding me that this year I wont be exchanging presents with my father. I decided to only give Shikamaru a gift this year. Not knowing what to get him, I drew him a portrait of Ekitai to keep in his room. It was difficult, seeing as how the camera was left in my house to burn and Kiba didn't have one. I had to repeatedly command her to sit, then get her to look at me. It would have been easier if I had asked Shikamaru to use his shadow possession jutsu, though it would spoil the surprise. It was Christmas Eve when I finished, snow falling in huge flakes outside the bedroom window.
"KIBA!" I squealed, delighted in my work. He sprinted to my room, sliding on the wooden floor in his socks.
"Something wrong?" He looked around, but relaxed when he found me smiling happily at my finished piece.
"I'm finally finished!" He grinned.
"Finally!" He walked over to lean on his knees, examining the picture with an impressed face.
"Amazing," he breathed, and I smiled sweetly.
"You think he'll like it?" He nodded.
"You're really really good." I happily gave him a hug and allowed him to leave my room.
"Hana's making us lunch for once if you want some later," He called, shutting his door to his room. I set the picture aside to let the ink dry, then walked out of the room in the direction of the smell of food. Sure enough, Hana was cooking some rice along with a few other delicious smelling things that I didn't really recognize.
"Smells good," I commented, and she turned around to smirk at me.
"This the first time you've smelled my cooking?" I nodded.
"You'll LOVE it. Not to brag, but everyone who's tried my cooking so far have never been disappointed." I laughed. It was then that I heard knocking on our door, and before Hana could even ask, I ran over to open it.
Neji was the one at the door, bundled up in his winter coat.
"Er..Hey.." He gave me a slight nod in greeting. "Want to come in?" He nodded again and stepped inside. I shut the door behind him.
"Where's Kiba?" I shrugged and pointed to his room. Neji took my directions, not even bothering to knock on Kiba's door before entering. Kiba immediately opened the door after Neji closed it.
"C'mere, Tei." I raised an eyebrow, but obeyed anyway. Slipping inside his room, I took a seat on his bed. Neji had taken his coat off, and was scolding Kiba with expressions alone. I could only give a guess as to why he'd look annoyed.
"What do you want, Neji?" Kiba crossed his arms and leaned on his wall.
"Well, I was supposed to say this without Teima here," He shifted his eyes to give me an annoyed glance, "But Ino's holding a Christmas party and she wants you to come." I laughed.
"What, does she want to have a holiday boyfriend that badly?" They both stared at me, and I let out a fake cough. "That's all parties are for nowadays.. The kissing, the snuggling, whatever. You name it, and it'll have to do with the opposite sex." Kiba grinned.
"Don't go spoiling the fun, Tei, or I wont take you as my date." I would've choked if I was drinking something. Neji gave me a worried look as I coughed loudly.
"What was that?" The badger laughed outright.
What a loser he must be to want to go out with you! Her laughing was uncontrollable.
Shut up, Fruvo.
I say that to her often nowadays. Kiba sighed.
"Fruvo again? What'd she say this time?" Neji's eyebrows creased into his forehead as he looked at Kiba.
"That you're a loser for wanting to take me out." I chuckled, and Fruvo seemed pleased that I spoke this outright. He glared, though not at me.
"What a bitch," He muttered. I nodded in agreement, and he looked at me hopefully.
"So. What do you say? It's kind of obvious that you weren't invited.. I could take you as my date and it'd be fine for you to come. You have nothing better to do anyway; you finished that picture for Shikamaru, remember?" I sighed heavily. Neji backed me up.
"I was sent to invite Shikamaru too.." Kiba huffed.
"Damn. Well.. if he doesn't invite you by six, I'm taking you, Tei." I glared at him.
"Kiba, I can't go out with you! What would Shikamaru think?" He sighed.
"Fine, fine! Stubborn girl." I smiled a little. Neji got up to leave.
"That's all I came for. See you tonight Kiba." Kiba only nodded in response, opening the door for him to leave. I left with Neji, explaining to Hana that I'll warm up her meal later; I was going to visit the Nara family. She reminded me of a jacket, and I only shook my head, bolting out the door.
Brrr. Freezing. Maybe I should listen to people for once. I soon appeared at their doorstep, and knocked a few times. Shikamaru's father opened the door, and smiled once he saw me.
"You haven't visited in forever!" He hurried me inside. Shikamaru's mother was suddenly offering me hot chocolate after yelling for Shikamaru to wake up.
"Uh..Yeah! Thanks!" Immediately Shikamaru walked out into the room. He grinned when he saw me.
"Hey." I blushed slightly at his casual tone, and Shikamaru's dad laughed after giving me a noogie.
"You all are in a good mood today," I remarked. Shikamaru's mother smiled.
"Why not? It's Christmas Eve!" I only gave her a slight nod of agreement. She poured my hot chocolate into a cup, asking if I wanted whip cream.
"Please?" Shikamaru patted his lap instead of the spot next to him, and I shyly walked over to sit on it. His dad gave me a wink as he offered to bring me my hot chocolate and the woman of the house agreed.
"So. Shikamaru tells us he's taking you to Ino's party as his date?" I turned around, perplexed.
"Since when?" He only smirked.
"Since Neji reported that I better since Kiba wanted to take you as his date." I rolled my eyes.
"What lovely connections you have." He pouted.
"You don't want to go with me?" I felt heat rise to my face.
"No, I want to go.." I could see his eyes light up a little.
"Good. Then you wont mind spending your Christmas Eve here?" I opened my mouth to say that Hana made me food, but I closed it, realizing that it was a lousy excuse. I let out a small sigh.
"Fine, if you want." I sipped my hot chocolate, relishing the taste. "This is delicious!" His mother beamed at me.
"Shikamaru, why can't you be more like Teima? She's so polite." Shikamaru rolled his eyes.
"Because unlike Teima, I can't be perfect." I smiled a little, embarassed.
"You know I'm not perfect."
"Mm.. Then why do you seem to be?" I could've sworn his dad lit a cigarette right next to my face, leaving the lighter on. Way too hot in here. He laughed lightly. "You're blushing!" I smiled again.
"What do you expect? A slap in the face?" He smirked.
"It'd be more like you, seeing as how you've treated other guys." I sighed.
"You're not like other guys." Both of his parents stopped in their tracks, eyeing me with evil grins on their faces. They were going to catch me in the act, but I shut up then. His dad gazed down at us thoughtfully.
"Shikamaru, I'm glad you chose her rather than Temari. She's much less troublesome." I hid my face against Shikamaru's chest. His parents are so embarassing! His heartbeat was a lot faster than usual, and the vibration of his voice soothed my nerves.
"I know." Wrapping his arms around me, he asked his mother for a cup of hot chocolate for himself. As she poured him a cup, someone knocked on the door. His dad got it, and a semi-shy girl's voice could be heard.
"Is Shikamaru-kun home?" I sighed when Shikamaru let go of me and lifted me off of him to go greet his visitor. I stood up to peek over Shikamaru's dad's shoulder to see Kuari Sinon at the door with her dog Seylin Emily. Ekitai growled a little in her small frame, her ears folding back against her cranium as she eyed the canine. My eyes widened.
"Kuari!" Running to greet her, I stopped in my tracks at Shikamaru's side as she stared at him dreamily. Looking back between the two, he didn't really recognize her until I said her name.
"Kuari Sinon?" His eyes widened. "I thought you were dead!" She shook her head, still gazing at him.
"I lived in the forest for quite a while." I frowned at her ignorance of me. "But I came back too see you, Shikamaru-kun, I just had to." She blushed a little, and I glanced at Shikamaru to find him rubbing the back of his head.
"Well..er..thanks," He muttered. Jeez, what an awkward moment. She was holding a bag in her hand, and lifted it up to him.
"Merry Christmas!" She smiled sweetly, and I glared at her pretty face in jealousy. What if Shikamaru changed his mind and wanted to be HER girlfriend before we even had the chance to go out? Shikamaru took the bag and gave out his thanks.
"Would you like to come in?" He offered. Damn you, Shikamaru! No! Her face brightened up. A lot.
"Would I ever!" She squealed, and made her way past me. I heaved an annoyed sigh, and she finally took notice of me. "Who are you?" I crossed my arms and gave her a half frown.
"Teima Ryuka. You obviously don't remember me because---" Shikamaru slapped his hand over my mouth, cutting me off.
"She's just angry that you didn't remember. Don't mind her." I glared at him when he didn't remove his hand. I was tempted to lick it so I could cuss her out or something, but decided against it. She looked between the two of us and giggled.
"What's the relationship between the two of you?" I really really REALLY wanted to answer this question. Fruvo was uncontrollably laughing again. I forced Shikamaru's hand off of my mouth.
"We're dating." Shikamaru looked at me wide-eyed, blushing slightly. Kuari looked at me, half crestfallen, half deadly.
"Oh..Well...Then Shikamaru-kun, can I take that back?" I grinned like the Cheshire cat.
"No wait, I wanna see!" I reached for the bag, but Shikamaru made it so that it was out of reach. He sighed.
"How troublesome...fine, Kuari, take it." She quickly made a move towards him, and all else paused. I watched her like a tiger watching its prey as she got closer and closer to his face. Too close. I slapped her, and she finally decided to take the bag and back away. Furious, she pouted at me.
"I just saw the mistletoe and--" I cut her off.
"Wait. What mistletoe?" I looked up to find nothing on the ceiling. "You filthy liar," I muttered. She gazed at me, wide-eyed.
"Teima, when did you get to be so rude? Surely not from Shikamaru-kun?" He smiled a little.
"That's just how she is," He answered for me as I glared at her with as much venom as humanly possible. Quickly she reached inside her bag, and grabbed something green. Throwing it up to the ceiling just above Shikamaru, she quickly ran over to give him a full kiss on the lips. I stared, shocked, and backed away. Shikamaru pushed her off of him.
"Mistletoe.." She whispered, blushing like mad. Rage creeped over me as Shikamaru looked above him, then glared that the thing she threw up. He reached up and took it down, shoving it into her face.
"Go home." She flipped her silky black hair, and stared at him with tears in her eyes.
"She wasn't lying? Teima didn't lie about you two dating?" Shikamaru just looked at her helplessly, knowing the answer but afraid of making her cry.
"No, she didn't lie.." Kuari blushed even redder and let out a small 'Sorry!' as she shoved past him to get through the door and out into the cold. Stumped, afraid, angry, and worried, I slouched back into a chair to play that scene over and over again. Kuari and Shikamaru..kissing... Shikamaru just went back to his couch to drink his cold hot chocolate. Somehow, his parents escaped into another room after Kuari entered the house. I glared at the floor.
"Sorry." He looked up at me, confused.
"What for?" I shrugged.
"Telling her that you and I were dating. I just ruined any chances you could have had with her. I kind of lost it." He frowned.
"Tei, that wasn't a lie. Dork. We ARE dating, and besides, I don't like her that way." I looked up at him hopefully.
"Really?" He laughed.
"Yeah! What, do you think I'd like someone I haven't seen in years?" I bit my lip.
"I remember you having a crush on her, though. Way back when." He cocked his head.
"You remember that?" I nodded. He grinned and shook his head.
"Like you said, that was way back when. Now get over here," He teased, patting the spot next to him on the couch. I blushed slightly, he'll never cease making me feel special. Never. Which is bad. I'll be blushing for the rest of my life!
Slowly I got up and walked to the couch, gladly taking my seat next to him. He glanced at the clock and immediately got up.
"Crap," He muttered, throwing on a jacket. I looked at him quizzically when he held out a hand to me. "We gotta go or we'll be late."
"Oh!" I took his hand to be polite, but he paused when he realized I didn't have anything to protect me from the bitter cold.
"Where's your jacket?" I shrugged and smiled innocently.
"Not here?" I responded, and he heaved a groan.
"Take mine," He handed it to me and ran to his room to grab another for himself. I put it on; it was huge for me. But at least it'll be warm. He led me to Ino's house, and they were ALL dancing this time. Hinata was even dancing with Naruto! I smiled, proud of her. TenTen and Neji were having their intense moment, Kiba, Shino, Ino, Chouji, and the sand siblings were all dancing by themselves, though thoroughly enjoying it. As SOON as we entered the house, Sakura shouted, "THEY'RE HERE!" And everyone stopped to stare at us, holding hands. Despite the music they all cheered and looked to Ino. I groaned.
"I knew it!" Kiba smiled broadly as I slapped a hand to my face. Ino decided to have a vote.
"Who votes for spin the bottle?" A few hands shot up. "Seven minutes in heaven?" More hands than the last shot up. "Truth or/and Dare?" More hands than the other two were raised. I groaned. Neither Shikamaru or I voted at all. Ino turned to me happily.
"What do you vote for, Teima?" I glared at her.
"That we play nothing at all and just have our fun without anything to do with you wanting to get a new lover." She looked like she was about to throw me out of the party entirely, but Sakura put a hand on Ino's shoulder.
"We'll get her with a dare," She reminded her, and I wanted to slap them in the face for looking at me so evilly. Everyone settled down in a circle with the exception of me. Shikamaru sighed and decided to join them, sitting in between Chouji and Kiba. I refused to sit in the circle, but walked over to the snacks to munch on a few Christmas cookies. Sadly, I could still hear all of their voices. Sakura was to ask first.
"Shino! Truth or dare?" Shino flinched involuntarily at his name.
"Dare," he muttered. Sakura just smirked.
"I dare you to...infest Tsunade's house with cockroaches, then leave her a letter explaining how this represents your undying love for her." The entire room exploded with laughter, even I had to laugh a little. I could sense him glaring at Sakura, but he did as was dared, sending the letter off on one of the cockroaches.
"Piece of cake," he declared, pushing up his shiny glasses. He turned on Chouji.
"Chouji. Truth...or dare." Chouji munched on his chips, though everyone could hear the loud crunching stop when he thought about it.
"Truth!" I saw Shino's skin lift up a little; he was probably smiling.
"How much do you weigh?" Shikamaru stared at Shino, appalled. I could hear the chips crack as Chouji crumbled his bag.
"I'm not going to answer that question. There! That's the truth!" He happily began to munch on his chips again, and I burst out laughing as I walked back to a chair to sit in. Chouji pointed at Temari.
"Truth or dare?" His voice was barely audible, seeing as how his mouth is full. Temari bit her lip.
"Truth."
"Chicken," Chouji muttered. Apparently he had a pretty good dare. "Fine...if you had to choose, would you rather make out with Neji or Kiba?" She gave Chouji a disgusted look as she made up her mind.
"Kiba. Definitely." Kiba blushed slightly at her choice. Temari jerked her head towards Shikamaru.
"Truth or Dare?" Shikamaru looked up, thoughtful.
"Dare," He grinned.
"I dare you to..." She glanced across the room, looking for ideas, when she found me clenching my fists so hard that my skin tore slightly and a knuckle was bleeding. Surprised, she changed her mind on something. "I dare you to go jump in Ino's pond outside! Shirt OFF." I gave her a disgruntled look, but Shikamaru just shrugged.
"Fine." My eyes widened as he took off all of his layers of clothing that was above his waist and walked out the back door. Amazed at how muscular he was, I followed to watch. He did a beautiful dive into the pond, Temari blushing as she watched him. He came up spitting out water.
"GAH! WHAT A PAIN! THIS IS COLD!" Leaping out of the water, he sprinted into the house. I followed timidly, noticing that Ino was going upstairs to find some of her dad's pants for Shikamaru to wear along with a towel. He searched the room for someone to pick on when his eyes met Kiba's.
"Truth or dare." Kiba didn't hesitate in answering.
"Truth."
"Do you know how much pain you'll be in if you try asking Teima out again?" Shikamaru tried to sound innocent, but failed. Venom took a grip on his voice, making every bit of it poisonous and threatening. I blushed slightly as Kiba stared at him.
"N-Not really.." Shikamaru just smiled.
"Would you like to know?" Kiba's eyes narrowed.
"You want to have a go? I'll show her HOW much better I am for her than you!" I gasped, clasping both hands to my face to hide my extreme blushing. Everyone was watching the two of them in complete shock, a few of the girls turned to look at me.
"Guys! Stop!" Shikamaru paused at my command, but Kiba didn't listen. He threw a punch at Shikamaru; luckily he had dodged easily. I got up, and in a flash I was in Kiba's face.
"Hurt him and I'll put you in what I like to call Hell on Earth," I hissed, then pushed the two away from each other. Everyone stared at me, amazed that I would say such things. "Continue with your game," I said happily, acting like I was full of sunshine and rainbows. Kiba did continue, though the environment was full of nervousness combined with an awkward feeling.
"Sakura." Her ugly face immediately revealed itself; she had been looking at the ground earlier. I let out a fake scream.
"Run, everyone! Her face will kill you all!" Her eyes twisted into more than a fearful cold glare; it was deathly, vicious, and ensuring me that if I didn't watch myself I'll get that shot right back at me ten fold. Before Kiba could even ask, Sakura answered.
"Truth."
"Why am I getting the feeling that I'll have to save Teima's life tonight?" Sakura only smirked evilly.
"I dunno.. maybe that's because if you don't you'll find her dead tomorrow?" I laughed lightly, sarcastically.
"Bring it, Billboard Brow. I'd absolutely love to kick your ass." Her smirk faded, and she stuck out her tongue childishly, not taking up my challenge. Ekitai had woke up from her nap and was snarling at Sakura. "Easy girl," I muttered, stroking her head until she calmed down. Now there was tension in the room as I realized why I wasn't invited to this party in the first place.
"Teima," Sakura muttered.
"What?!" I snapped.
"Truth or dare." I grinned.
"Dare." She looked at me thoughtfully.
"...How about we make this one truth and dare?" I looked at her, puzzled, but agreed.
"Which of these boys would you rather make out with.. Shino, Chouji, Kiba, Kankuro, Gaara, or Naruto?" I frowned deeply as well as Shikamaru; she didn't mention him.
"I'm chickening," I declared, and everyone looked at me, shocked. I normally never back out of things like this, but if Shikamaru is not involved in this truth and dare, I'm NOT doing it.
"No chickening on this one," Sakura said this with too much confidence. I raised an eyebrow as everyone agreed besides Shikamaru.
"Too bad, unless you include Shikamaru in that list." He blushed furiously and I did myself slightly as I waited for her reply. Her grin came back.
"Nope. Too obvious that you'd pick him. Now hurry up!" I rolled my eyes.
"Shino, then!" Shikamaru sank in his chair, and I cringed, not wanting to hear what Sakura would say next. I could see Shino's face reddening as Sakura pointed at me.
"I dare you to make out with Shino Aburame!" My eye twitched. Shino and I didn't move from our seats, though everyone was getting impatient.
"Just do it, Teima," Kankuro muttered.
"I. Chicken." Sakura came up with a comback that I couldn't respond to.
"You chose dare first, so do it already!" I sighed heavily.
"You people are such a pain in the ass!" Saying this loudly, I walked over to Shino, not daring to glance at Shikamaru. Without thinking I unzipped his collar and lightly kissed him, and he gave me a sweet kiss in return. Mostly everyone clapped, and I turned around to slap Sakura in the face.
"Gaara!" I said heatedly, and he just turned to me with an annoyed expression.
"What?"
"Truth or dare?" His eyes narrowed.
"Dare."
"I dare you to confess to Shienna your love for her! Immediately!" He blushed, and I saw some sand escape out of his gourd. Knowing what he was doing, I sat in my chair, satisfied.
"Done," Gaara said, then looked around and his eyes met TenTen's.
"TenTen.. truth or dare," he muttered. TenTen sighed.
"Truth."
"What's it like to be on a team with losers?" She laughed lightly, and blushed when Neji looked at her.
"Uhmm...it's great. They're fun." I could see Gaara roll his eyes slightly.
"Liar," He breathed, but let her go with that. TenTen sighed.
"Lee." Amazingly, Lee was actually there. He's been silent this entire time, waiting for someone to call on him.
"Truth." She smiled.
"Who do you like more. Shienna, Teima, or Sakura?" Shikamaru's head shot to look in Lee's direction, and he was blushing furiously.
"I... I believe the answer is Sakura-chan, though both Teima-chan and Shienna-chan are very nice.." He didn't look at any of us, and I smiled in relief. No need to protect myself or Shienna. Lee looked around and found his teammate.
"Neji-kun!" Annoyed, Neji looked over to him.
"Truth. I'm afraid of your dares." I snickered, and looked over to find Shikamaru eyeing me closely.
"What is your weakness?!" Excited, Lee's eyes sparkled and he took out a pen and pad to write this down.
"...If you ask TenTen, she'll say I don't have one." Damn, he found a way out of it. His hand no longer shaking with excitement, Lee looked up at Neji, bushy eyebrows turned down along with his mouth.
"That is not a fair answer, Neji-kun!" He shrugged.
"So? It's the truth." TenTen was blushing lightly, Naruto was laughing his head off. I sighed contentedly and sank in my chair, getting comfortable. My eyes drooped, and I allowed myself to see blackness, but was still conscious enough to hear the rest.
"Hmmm... Kankuro. Truth or dare." I could imagine Kankuro smirking.
"Dare, of course."
"I dare you to wake up Teima over there." I almost grinned, but held it to see what would happen. I heard footsteps walking in my direction, and breath on my face. Suddenly my eyes popped open and I shouted "BOO!" at him. He jumped back and clutched his chest where his heart was. His eyes widened, and everyone in the room laughed.
"Holy...You scared the crap out of me, Teima!" I smiled innocently.
"Would've been worse if I actually WAS asleep." Kankuro sighed and resumed his seat.
"Two people left.. Sai!" Kankuro dramatically pointed at him. "Truth or dare?" Sai sighed, bored.
"Truth." Kankuro thoughtfully examined him.
"What do you really think of the ladies in this room. No lies. Doesn't matter if you're afraid that they'll hurt you or not." With no expression Sai answered him.
He pointed at TenTen. "She has a weird hairdo. Sakura has a flat chest and is too bitchy, Temari is too bossy, Ino is an ugly bitch, Hinata is too shy but she has shiny hair, Teima's cool and pretty, though she seems to have some anger issues.." His voice trailed off as he finished, and I was pounding on the arm of my chair, laughing.
"Don't worry dude, just for that answer I'll protect you from them all!" I was still laughing, crying from laughing so hard, in fact. I got up and walked over to him, unable to breathe, and gave him a high five. He was actually grinning at me as I blindly found my way back to my chair. "Aaaah, that was a good one," I said, wiping away the tears. Sai looked over to Hinata.
"Hinata.. truth or dare." She froze, thinking.
"Truth!" He watched her.
"Seriously, what kind of conditioner do you USE?" I could tell he was serious and busted up laughing again.
"SAI, I CAN'T BREATHE," I shouted this over Hinata's answer so I couldn't hear. It was a few minutes before I regained my breath. Shikamaru was smiling at me, though he looked worried.
"You okay, Tei?" I nodded, still giggling randomly as I thought about what he said repeatedly.
Ino stood up.
"The party was supposed to end at eleven, and that's what time it is now.. but if some of you want to stay, we can still play something else." Immediately I got in line to escape, and it was then that I felt lips on mine. I was staring at the face of Shikamaru. When he broke away, he glanced up at the ceiling.
"Mistletoe," He whispered. I looked up to find he was right. Shocked but pleased, I leaned forward to kiss him back. Our lips collided with a crash. Anxiously I wrapped my arms around his neck, biting his bottom lip for entrance. He allowed it, and we soon were fighting for dominance with our tongues. He eventually won, and I resorted to memorizing every inch of his mouth. I smiled in our kiss when I heard someone wolf whistle and another person shout to get a room. Only a few seconds later did I feel a blow to my cheek, and I flew back up against a wall. Rubbing where I was hit, I looked up to find Sakura grinning triumphantly.
"I knew I'd catch you off guard." I hissed and got up with shaky knees; her blow caused me to make a crater in Ino's wall.
"You filthy low-life coward!" I spat, and motioned for Ekitai to attack. Gladly my dog pounced onto Sakura, ripping and tearing at her with her teeth. Sakura punched Ekitai off of her, and I took that moment to create ten shadow clones. Five took out kunai while the rest struggled to hold her down. While she was held down temporarily, I threw my fist at her face with full force; no chakra involved at all. Yet she still flew many meters away from me and crashed into some of Ino's furniture; knocked out cold. Everyone paused in their steps to stare at me. Fruvo, who was silent the entire time, chuckled.
You get annoyed very easily..
Oh? Really? Unlike her, I would NOT have punched someone in the face while she was kissing the man she loved!
..I don't know about that.. I snorted.
I do.
Shikamaru was staring at me in shock, though he quickly recovered and ran over to examine my face. I winced when his fingers grazed my cheek.
"That was not right," He muttered, "Not right at all." Curious, a few people took a look at Sakura, others asked me if I was alright. Naruto didn't know who to side with; his crush or his friend. Ino pushed through the crowd, finding me.
"That was totally cowardly of her, I agree. Teima, I feel really bad that you got hurt at my party. Can I heal your face?" I nodded, and Shikamaru and I waited for her to finish. When she released her hands from my face, it felt loads better.
"Thank you... That was very nice of you," I commented. She only smiled and opened the door for us to leave. Shikamaru threw one of his jackets around my shoulders; I gave him a peck on the cheek as a thanks.
"I'm sorry you had to see me like that," I said, watching my feet as we walked towards Kiba's place. He sighed.
"You had every right to do that to her, I'm not upset with you in the least." I smiled at him, though he looked troubled.
"What's up?" He glanced at me worriedly.
"I guess...I guess I just don't like the fact that you willingly kissed Shino." I bit my lip.
"It wasn't very willing, you heard what they were saying to me!"
"Yeah, but you kissed him in the end. Seeing you two like that made me so jealous.. I still want to sock Shino for it." I wrapped my arms around his right arm, and leaned my head against his shoulder.
"I'm sorry. You're right; I shouldn't have.. But you know, I really wanted to kill Kuari when she stole a kiss from you like that." He shifted uncomfortably.
"Trust me, so did I.." We stopped at the door, and I paused.
"Wait for me for a minute, okay?" He nodded, and I ran inside to grab his present. When I got back, I handed him the present carefully, angry at myself that I didn't think of wrapping it first. He stared at it in amazement, then looked down at Ekitai, who was at my feet, and compared them.
"This is amazing!" I smiled broadly; I had hoped he would say that.
"Merry Christmas." He smiled back.
"Merry Christmas.." His face steadily got closer to mine until our lips met, but he quickly ended it. "Teima.. come with me, please?" I smiled and shrugged. He jumped onto Kiba's roof, and I followed his lead. He was gazing at the stars, lying on his back. I placed myself next to him.
"Teima... will you be my girlfriend?" I grinned.
"Of course! How could I say no?" He shrugged, but smiled. He jumped down from the roof, and I followed, happier than I've ever been. We waved goodbye to each other and I snuck into the room I stayed in, and being a ninja, I managed to make it so neither Kiba nor Hana noticed I was even here.